UN Security Council Fails to Agree on Statement Calling for Ceasefire in Ethiopia

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
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UN Security Council Fails to Agree on Statement Calling for Ceasefire in Ethiopia

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo

The 15-member United Nations Security Council failed to agree on adopting a statement calling for a ceasefire in Tigray, Ethiopia, and expressing concern about alleged arrests based on ethnic identity.

The draft text submitted by Ireland, a non-permanent member of the Council, was rejected by China and Russia and was “abandoned” on Friday night, a diplomatic source affirmed.

Several other diplomatic sources said that “there is no agreement” and some believed that the draft was rushed.

The Russian diplomatic mission acknowledged the existence of a dispute over the text, while it was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the Chinese mission.

According to the draft text obtained by AFP, the Council called for “unimpeded humanitarian access, an end to hostilities and the launch of a comprehensive national dialogue” in Ethiopia.

The draft stresses the council members’ concerns about “reports of large-scale arrests in Ethiopia on the basis of ethnic identity and without due process.” It also denounces “hate speech.”

Last week, Ethiopia declared a nationwide six-month state of emergency amid growing fears that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters and their allies would advance towards the capital, Addis Ababa.

Several countries have called on their nationals to leave Ethiopia while the conflict between the rebels and government forces north of the country escalates.



Israeli Strike Kills One in Lebanon's South

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
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Israeli Strike Kills One in Lebanon's South

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)

One person was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reported, the latest deadly attack despite a November ceasefire.

"The raid carried out by an enemy Israeli drone on the town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in one martyr and three people injured," read a statement from the ministry.

The official National News Agency said the strike targeted a house's courtyard in the town, adding that a missile hit the homeowner's car.

Israel has regularly bombed its northern neighbor since the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with armed group Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.

The agreement required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle all military infrastructure to its south.

It also required Israel to withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems "strategic".